Monkey Bread Dough

Got the majority of this recipe from a Rachel Ray Magazine article but of course had to augment it a bit. I loved the idea of savory monkey bread - one of those eye opening "why didn't anyone think of that before" sort of things (like cookie dough ice cream). My mom loves sweet things though, so when I was working to make some to take home for the weekend, I split the recipe and made one cinnamon and one Parmesan.(As an aside, I also made this recipe again and formed the dough into loaves and baked it as plain bread.)

INGREDIENTS

1 envelope (2 1/4 t.) yeast (I used bread machine yeast)
2/3 C. 110 degree water
2 c. all purpose white flour (I used King Arthur white whole wheat)
1 1/2 c. whole wheat
1/4 c. wheat germ
2 T. vital wheat glutton
2 T. sugar
1 t. salt
2 large eggs
1 stick butter, room temp, cut into 4 chunks

Mix water and yeast and let stand 10 minutes.
Mix dry ingredients thoroughly.
Mix yeast, butter (will be way chunky) and eggs slightly.
Dump wet into bread machine, pour dry on top.
Set to "dough" which for my machine set the time for 1.5 hr.
After that time, you should have a nice poofy dough.

For monkey bread...
I then split the dough into two halves. I made each half into little 1" dough balls.
I greased two cake pans.
I tossed the one half of dough with cinnamon, brown and white sugar, and dumped the balls into the pan, then drizzled 1/2 stick of melted butter over the top.
The other half I tossed with garlic powder, dried parsley, and Parmesan-style cheese, dumped into a pan and poured the other 1/2 of the stick of melted butter over the top.

Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes.
   

Sausage treats to try for the holidays

Recipe = Sausage and Grapes

I am linking you to an ad. Don’t get upset.

I was browsing Saveur (say it like “concur”) magazine no. 179 (December 2015) and came across the mug shot of a red-headed bespectacled man named Ben Mims. Not quite sure what caught my fancy and made me read on – perhaps the placement, layout, or maybe the brevity of the answer Ben gave to the question: “What’s your go-to?” But the reason I am sharing it (in video format – which expands on the printed version but still holds the same charm) is because of the voice that comes through in this little clip. “Oh you just had a baby?" Have some sausage and grapes. "Someone’s sick? Here’s some sausage and grapes; it reheats beautifully.”

Doesn't that sounds like a great sausage pot luck dish? I will be trying Grapes and Sausage soon – but I am actually going to try something a little different and have red grapes and loose pork sausage (with, as Ben suggested, cheese grits on the side).

Ingredients =
1 lb. pork sausage
1 C. grapes
Garlic
Red pepper flakes

Brown sausage. Toss in other ingredients and reduce until sticky and caramelized.


Recipe = Cheesy Sausage Balls

In the same issue of Saveur, there was another sausage recipe that I was intrigued by, possibly for one of the same reasons the Sausage and Grapes caught me - it was short. The recipe listed before this one had 3 components (caramel sauce, dough and filling), 5 steps and clocked in at around 27 ingredients.This looked to be an easy sausage ball recipe that would make a great Christmas breakfast.

Temperature = 375 Degrees

Ingredients =
1 lb. pork sausage
 ½ lb. grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese
¼ C. flour
1 T. sage
 1 egg
 Salt, black and cayenne pepper as you like

Mix. Form into 2” balls. Arrange 2” apart on parchment paper* lined baking sheets. Bake for about 30 minutes – the cheese will bake out and form a little cracker underneath. Serve during the winter holidays for breakfast.